Reunion Rail (Dryolimnas augusti)

Year Last Seen:

1670

Comments:

This recently-described, probably flightless rail was likely driven Extinct in the late 17th century as a result of hunting pressure and predation by introduced rats and cats.

Habitat:

Little is known, but it is likely to have been flightless (Hume and Walters 2012).

Causes:

Presumably driven extinct by over-hunting, and predation by introduced rats and cats (Hume and Walters 2012).

Distribution:

Dryolimnas augusti was described from fossils from Réunion (to France) and thought to correspond to a rail species mentioned by Dubois in 1674 (per Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1999) as 'Râle des Bois'; there are no subsequent reports or birds likely to relate to this species, and its extinction may well have taken place in the late 17th century (Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1999).

References:

IUCN Redbook Data